It’s one of those situations where you scratch your head and wonder, ‘Why didn’t they do this sooner?’

There were myriad reasons to split up Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele at the beginning of the season, or in the second half of last year.

Among them, moving Jack Roslovic up the lineup was there, promoting Patrik Laine to the top line was another, and others, including giving Andrew Copp an expanded role, perhaps even at centre.

But there was reluctance, and understandably so.

Already into this 30s, Wheeler posted back-to-back 91-point seasons at right wing alongside Scheifele. Top-liners want two things: wins and points. Wheeler and Scheifele had produced both in droves over the past two seasons.

“I would never say that I don’t want to play with him, he’s one of the elite centres in the league,” Wheeler said in a discussion during the team’s latest road trip through California. “I love playing with the guy.”

From Paul Maurice’s point of view, with all of the uncertainty that was draped over the club during the offseason and throughout training camp, Wheeler and Scheifele remained a constant. They were the duo the coach could depend upon, offensively and defensively.

“Sometimes, you have to remove yourself and those feelings from the equation and try and decide if maybe going somewhere else or splitting us up or doing different things might make us a better hockey team,” Wheeler said. “After last season you put everything on the table. You put all the cards on the table.”

Because even a 91-point season couldn’t provide comfort after his team went downhill in the second half last year and were punted from the playoffs in the first round.

The thing with points is they don’t matter nearly as much if there is a ‘W’ attached to them.

“For me, that’s all that matters at this point,” Wheeler said of the win column. “There’s nothing that I’m looking to accomplish outside of winning hockey games. If that means I’m the second-, third-, fourth-line centre, right-wing, left-wing, I’m completely open to doing any of those things.”

The move that necessitated Wheeler’s return to centre came 12 games ago when a Nikolaj Ehlers shot took a deflection and drilled Bryan Little in the head. The Jets suddenly—and indefinitely—needed someone to step up to the plate.

Wheeler was there with a batting helmet on.

“I think when you look at those things, it gives an opportunity to get the most out of some of your teammates, too,” Wheeler said. “You get (Patrik Laine) playing in that spot, I’m trying to be a positive influence on (Ehlers and Jack Roslovic). So now, all of a sudden, you got maybe little more engagement out of some guys and some things are clicking and obviously, it’s going good right now.”

It’s not too early to call Wheeler’s move to centre a significant turning point of the season. But it’s the bigger picture stuff that appears to be just as important, if not more.

Part of that portrait was that Wheeler didn’t have a great start to the season and he knew it.

In the same conversation with Wheeler, it came across that he welcomed the change.

“Thing’s were a little bit stagnant in the first part of the year,” he said about his own game. “Coming into the middle, you’re just involved in the play a lot more. There’s definitely more responsibility.”

Wheeler has thrived on that, and it brings us to the second part that makes up the larger picture — his influence on others.

Wheeler was given Ehlers and Roslovic as wingers when the split happened and the trio has run with it. In their 11 games together thus far, they’ve posted a Corsi for percentage of 54.95% and an expected goals percentage of 51.42%. By and large, they’ve been the Jets’ best line since it was formed.

“We’ve been fast, we’ve been playing hard,” Roslovic said. “When we’re skating like we can skate, we can be one of the most dangerous lines on the ice on a consistent basis.”

Wheeler sets the wheels in motion and the other two keep them going.

“For me and Rosie, it’s been just trying to support him as much as we can defensively because offensively, we know what we want to do,” said Ehlers, who leads the team in goalscoring. “I think we’ve done a really good job (at playing defensively) since they put our line together. And now our offence is doing the way we want it to.”

Wheeler has two of Winnipeg’s brightest young talents matching his intensity.

“They’re involved in the play the whole time, knocking pucks down, getting sticks in on pucks, that’s the way Blake plays,” Maurice said. “So those guys are starting to look more like him even though they’re built differently.”

COULD HE STAY THERE?

This is the second time in three years where this question is being asked.

The first time around, it made less sense. The Jets were a little more stacked on forward and a move for Paul Stastny at the trade deadline made pointless to keep Wheeler away from the top line.

Now, Wheeler makes the team better being where he is. He’s also getting fewer minutes, which is a good thing in the long run if last year is to be believed.

“The door is still open that Blake Wheeler stays at centre,” Maurice said when asked last week. “That’s a possibility down the road. Nothing is permanent. I’ve said it a couple of hundred times. We’re happy today and in two weeks, all of your great plans get changed.”

It’s hindsight, of course, but after back-to-back seasons of going out at the trade deadline and spending a first-round pick to acquire a second-line centre, the Jets may have had him hiding on their top line the whole time.

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